by Honor James
“I’ll teach you, Mina,” he said softly as he stroked her cheek. “Where were you thinking we’d be for the marking, love? It doesn’t need to be anywhere of any importance. For the first time we make love”—he smiled—“then I’ll want you in my lair,” he told her, “spread out before me like a feast for the senses and my mouth.”
She shivered and then, said, “I thought that we had to make love to have you mark me?” And she was more than willing for that. “I had thought that we would be making love tonight, Janos?” Confusion was on her face. She was ready for him. She had gotten to know him in their dreaming and she felt something for him that she never thought she would feel. “Please don’t break my heart, Janos.”
“Never,” he said sharply, lifting his head. “But to mark you we don’t have to make love unless you want. If we do, the marking will be more, love. It will be us joining as mates, permanently. There is no divorce for Wolves. It’s for all time, Mina. We mate for life. You need to know that and understand that,” he murmured, kissing her softly.
“So you wouldn’t leave me if I became pregnant?” The look on his face told her all she needed to know, and she nodded. “I want more, Janos.” However, she had a question. “If you mark me when we make love, does it make me more or less of a target?” She didn’t care one way or another really because she was thinking that she was ready for him.
“We’ll be mating, so it should theoretically make you less of a target,” he said softly. “I can’t say that it will for sure, but I will make some inquiries and see what can be done to ensure no one comes for you again. I will protect you, Mina. That I want you to know will be done no matter what.” Stroking her hair, he kissed her again. “Do you want to stay here, love, or go to my home?” he asked gently, needing her to be comfortable with her choice and knowing she might prefer being surrounded by her own things.
She looked around her home and then back to him. It just didn’t seem to fit him, and in it not fitting him, it didn’t fit her. “I would like to come home with you, Janos, because I just realized something.” She closed her eyes and moved closer as his hands stroked her. She felt like a kitten, desperate for more petting. “I realized that my home has never really been here. I’ve just been waiting on you to come to bring me home.”
Grinning at her words, he shook his head. “You may want to reserve judgment until you see it,” he said softly, wondering if she’d feel lost in the three-thousand-square-foot, single-level, open concept home.
The high ceilings and open layout of his home kept him from feeling claustrophobic and in a cage, so he liked it. That and the master bedroom suite was better than any hotel on the planet. He knew. He’d checked.
She shrugged, giving him a pointed look, and asked, “Will you be there, Janos?” When he nodded, she grinned. “That’s all I need to know. You will be there, so it will be home. It’s not where you live, it’s that you are there.” This place could never suit him or be home. It just was what it was. “So would you like for me to pack?”
Nodding slowly, he kissed her one more time. “Yes, please,” he said ever so politely before he let her go to do whatever it was she needed to do.
Chapter 18
Sitting there, he watched her move, his eyes skating over her form and imagining what she looked like underneath her clothes. He knew her from dreams, but no one ever was entirely truthful in dreams or in telling about themselves. Somehow he knew she’d be so much better than his dream girl, mainly because she would be flesh and blood and reality in his bed.
She didn’t have a lot to pack so it didn’t take long until she was once more before him, a large ratty suitcase with bumper stickers all over it in hand. The Salvation Army find was one of the good things she had in her treasury. “All right, other than the box of bobbleheads and greeting cards from work, this is all I have.” Pretty pathetic, but it was all hers, all bought and cared for by herself, no one else, and nothing else.
Standing slowly, he looked down at her. “You sure there’s nothing else you want, love?” he asked her softly. When she shook her head, he nodded slowly.
He wanted to ask if she’d be returning or giving it up, but he wasn’t quite ready for the answer either way. “Let’s close up the windows and head out,” he said with a smile as he took the bag from her.
She moved to one of the windows and closed it and turned to watch him. “Is it all right if I lose the apartment and just be with you? If not, I will tell Mrs. Smith that I will be back.” The woman would of course demand the next month’s rent beforehand, and it would take all Mina had, but if that was what he wanted, that would be what she would do. She had no right to just push her way into his home, but that was where she wanted to be, with him.
Blinking at her, he nodded. “Of course it’s all right, Mina.” He paused and ducked his head slightly. “I’d like that.” He peeked at her, feeling inexplicably shy for some reason. “But I don’t want you to feel obligated, Mina,” he said suddenly. “I really want you there with me, at my side, but I don’t want you to feel any pressure to make the choice this instant.” Snapping his mouth shut, he shrugged slightly. “I’m just going to be quiet now before I really talk you out of moving in with me.”
She shrugged and moved to him. “I’ve seen the real Janos, in our dreams. He’s touched me and loved me and has been so careful of me. How can I not want to move in with you and have that dream man a reality? Why would I choose the dream when I have you here before me offering me forever?” Biting her lower lip, she said, “All I can ask for is that you would love me.”
“I do love you, Mina,” he said softly, the words coming out on a breath. Moving toward her, he cupped her cheek and tipped her chin up as he bent toward her. Kissing her gently, he licked at her lips teasing and needy. “I need you, Mina, in my home, in my heart, and forever with me.”
On her tiptoes she kissed him back and nodded. “I love you, too, Janos. Take me home with you, please?” Her arms were wrapped around his shoulders, holding onto him and trusting in him enough to give up on the small place she had made for herself, because she knew in the end her place had always been with him. “I need to go home, Janos, so you carry my bag and I will go up and talk to Mrs. Smith. I will grab my boxes on my way down, all right?”
Pulling back, he looked at her with a narrowed gaze. “All right, I’ll be out front, and if you’re not out in a timely manner I’ll be coming back in.” And he wouldn’t be happy with whatever had delayed her.
Kissing the end of her nose lightly, he stepped back and hefted her bag. “Give me a box, love, so you don’t need to carry too much. And tell that woman to send me the bill for the couch at Edge, too.” He’d get Max to write the check up from the petty cash.
She nodded and handed him the box of her bobbleheads. When he looked at her in question, she shrugged. “Clients sent them to me every year at my birthday, Christmas, and New Years.” She shrugged. “It all came about one day when I mentioned to one of them that I liked the bobbleheads and wished I had one. From then on I have been getting them. What’s strange is they all would send them to me, but never have I gotten two of the same.” She smiled up at him and added, “So they are my treasure.”
Smiling back, he nodded and tucked the box under his arm. “You are a very special and unique woman, Mina Tremayne,” he murmured softly. “I’m just glad I’m the one that got you for my own.” Winking, he stepped from the room and, opening the door, out into the hall. “Do not be long, Mina,” he reminded her of his impatience and protective nature in five little words.
“I won’t.” She would be as quick as she could, and when he turned to leave, she raced up the stairs and paused before Mrs. Smith’s door. Knocking lightly, she waited. When the woman answered, Mina didn’t hesitate but simply said, “Mrs. Smith, thank you for being so wonderful while I have lived here. However, I am moving out. I have already vacated the apartment, and please send a bill to me for the couch I burnt.” She wouldn’t let him pay for it, s
o chewing her lip she added, “Send it to the nightclub, The Edge, attention to myself in care of Max Emmons, and I will pay it, all right?”
Mrs. Smith saw red but shook her head. “I don’t trust you. You are breaking your month-to-month lease moving out on the fifth like this, so you have to pay me the rest of this month’s rent and for the ad to lease that apartment, for cleaning it and the couch, before you leave.” The woman knew that Mina had lost her job, and now in her eyes Mina could see that the woman simply wanted money.
Mina swallowed and nodded. “Will five hundred be enough?” It was more than half of the money she had left, money she had wanted to use to tide her over until she had a job, but now there was no choice.
Swiping the money quickly, Mrs. Smith nodded. “I will send the cleaning and replacement bill for anything you might have damaged or stolen.” With that she slammed the door in Mina’s face.
Wiping at her eyes and refusing to cry, Mina put her head up and started back down the stairs, going toward her future and hopefully leaving the pain of her past behind.
Chapter 19
The icy air slapped her in her face and she pulled her jacket tighter. Eyes watering from the cold, she saw him and moved toward him. “See, I told you I wouldn’t take long.” Her thin body shivered but she refused to allow it to affect her smile, her pleasure at knowing that this was right.
Looking to her and then to the building and back again, Janos growled. “What did she say to you?” he asked in a low tone. When she just shook her head, he nodded. “How about I go and ask her what she said to upset you then?” he suggested, his eyes glinting like the Wolf he was.
“Leave it. She is a bitter woman with too many children and no one to help her. The power she feels she gets from taking people’s money makes her feel good about herself.” Mina squeezed his hand. “I knew she would want at least a partial month’s payment for me moving out, but she wanted it all. I just hadn’t expected that.” She shrugged and sighed. “I just really would like to get out of the cold. It will all work out somehow, Janos.”
Tugging her to him, Janos hugged her tight. “I’m sorry, love,” he murmured softly, making a mental note to have Mik run a check on the woman and her so-called business. If he had his way, he’d make her ever regret crossing a Wolf and his mate, permanently.
She hugged him back, the heat of his body warming her and making her sigh happily. “I could get used to this,” she murmured, but after a moment began to shiver once more. “Can we go? I’m very cold, Janos.” An understatement. Her toes were icy and fingers numb from the cold.
Rubbing her back gently, he nodded and dropped a kiss onto her hair. “Jump in, love,” he said, pulling the door open and holding it for her as he helped her in. Once she was in, he shut it and moved around to slide in behind the wheel, turning the heat up a bit more for her. Dropping his car into gear, Janos pulled away from the curb and headed back across town nearly all the way to the clubs before he turned north and out of the city.
She leaned back in the plush leather heated seats and sighed. “This is nice.” She couldn’t remember ever riding in a vehicle other than a bus. The heat was warming her nicely and her eyes closed as she sighed. “If I fall asleep, please don’t think it reflects badly on you. It’s just me too tired and finally warm.”
“I won’t.” He chuckled slightly to keep her at ease. “Sleep, Mina. I promise I’ll wake you so you can get a look at the exterior of my place.” Reaching out, he adjusted the air so it wasn’t blowing on her face and was aimed only at her body.
“I would like that. I should likely also look up the bus routes around your house as well, but I will do that later, when I am ready to go looking for another job.” When he was back to work as well. “Thank you for taking such good care of me, Janos.”
“There are no buses out in my area,” he told her quietly. “But I do have a car you can use if you want,” he added, looking over briefly. “That is, of course, if you have your license. Don’t need you getting hauled in by my brother for not having one.” He rolled his eyes. “I’d never hear the end of that. Sometimes I really hate having a cop in the family.”
“Janos, I don’t have a license. I’ve never driven.” She frowned and shook her head. “This is my first time in a car, Janos.” She smiled. “Life is interesting when you ride the buses. I have met some very interesting people.” And some that terrified her. “And if not for the bus, you would never have met me, Janos.” Well, not really, but he likely never would have come to her if he hadn’t known she was in trouble.
“Well then we’ll just have to get you one or I’ll have to move into the city.” Which would seriously annoy him. He liked his space, needed the wide-open lot his house sat on, but for her he’d give it up and buy something smaller for the two of them. “Don’t worry, we’ll figure it out,” he reassured her with a smile, reaching over to touch her cheek lightly.
She leaned into his touch and smiled. “I don’t want to move back to the city. I want to live where you are the most comfortable. I will simply need to find a job with the same hours you have and drive in with you. How does that sound?” She afforded him a smile and then nipped his fingers as they stroked her cheek.
Shooting her a look, he smiled. “I like that idea, but you don’t have to, love. If you find a job you really love that doesn’t have the same hours, I’ll do whatever needs to be done. It’s that simple.” He’d hate it, but hell, he loved her, and her happiness was all that mattered.
“I would just…” She looked out the window and then back. “I would feel safer if it were the same hours as yours.” And what would happen if she ever became pregnant? “Tell me what happens if I get pregnant, Janos?” she asked him suddenly. “Can I stay home and be a mother, or should I continue to work?” She was so far ahead of herself that she was light-years ahead of where they were in the then and there.
“Your choice,” he told her, “just like every other woman out there. But until we’re fully mated and have been for at least a month, there’s no chance of you becoming pregnant. It’s some weird biological thing that keeps us from having half a dozen kids should we have relationships before finding a mate.”
“I think I really like that weird biological thing, Janos. I know it’s selfish of me, but I want to be the only one to ever give you children.” She shrugged and shifted slightly so she was facing him more, eyes once more growing heavy but watching him carefully. “I want to mate with you, Janos. I want a forever kind of life with you.”
“And we will, Mina,” he promised with a smile. Taking her hand in his, he gave it a gentle squeeze. “We’re almost to the house,” he told her as he pulled into his drive and hit the remote for the large gates set back over fifty feet from the house.
Chapter 20
He’d never wanted anyone seeing his home or land. It was private to him and just his. Pulling through, he went around the drive and pointed ahead. “There’s the house, love,” he said, looking to her with a smile, glad they’d come at night. The outside lights were highlighting the stonework of the front and the large porch area with the bench swing.
“Oh my god,” she whispered in complete and total awe. It settled in on her then just who and what he was and just how powerful and rich he was.
Licking her lips, she asked, “You think I’m silly for all this talk of getting a job, don’t you? You likely have more money in your safe than I ever would have made in a lifetime.” It was humbling, and frightening. “I love your home, Janos, just as I love you.” She did. She loved him completely, but she didn’t know what she could bring to their relationship.
“It’s not silly, honey. I work for a living, too, if you’ve forgotten,” he told her as he pulled into the garage at the side of the house. Once the doors were shut, he moved around to her side and helped her out but didn’t let her move away immediately.
“What’s wrong?” he asked her, staring at her intently. He’d caught the change in her scent, slight though it was it
had been there, and she was worrying. That much he knew.
“I love you, Janos,” she admitted as he held her close. “I have grown to love you in our shared dreams, but what can I bring into our relationship? You are offering me everything. You are a prince and I am not even a pauper.” She was penniless, unemployed, and all she had was what she would give him regardless of anything.
“You are giving me so much more than you can ever believe,” he said softly. “You’re giving me your love, you’re giving me you, all of you, and you’re bringing to me the other half of who I am. I’m a prince only by accident of birth to the right family. All the wealth I have now is because my brother was smart and invested what little money we had with us to ensure we’d never want. He worked long hours as we all grew, pouring every cent into making us more. He basically killed himself for the first forty years we were here so that we could enjoy our childhood and grow up slowly. Without his sacrifices I honestly don’t know if any of us would be half the upstanding citizens we are now.”
“Then I will remember to thank him, Janos.” She just hoped that he didn’t terrify her too much. “I hope he doesn’t scare me.” If so, she would simply deal. “Now, can we go inside? Go into our home, Janos? I want to look around and get to know it before we go to bed for the night, if that’s all right with you?”
“He’ll scare your pants off.” Janos grinned. “Just make sure you’re wearing underwear at the time,” he teased. “He’s a big, grumpy, snarly, growling Wolf that needs a serious social life. But every time I suggest he gets laid I end up needing stitches so I’ve just learned to e-mail him the suggestion instead.”
